The web saw cut test is stipulated internationally for estimating the residual stress level of railway tracks made of steel. This test is performed by making a 450 mm long saw cut along the neutral axis in the web of a rail section of 1.20 m length. Then the vertical gaping value should not exceed 3.63 mm. The gaping value permits a quantification of the susceptibility of the tracks to web breaks.
It has been found that in the manufacture of railway tracks, the above-mentioned limit value cannot be maintained reliably, but instead it is exceeded occasionally. The object of this invention is to guarantee that the gaping values obtained will in any case be lower than the specified limit in traditional production of railway tracks, so as to comply with customer demand.